Window covering



Dec. 23, 1958 v p M COLE WINDOW COVERING Filed Aug. 11, 1955 PAUL M. COLE FjgzZ till WilllDQW COVERING Application August It, E1955, Serial No. 5271729 it) Claims. (til. hill-85) This invention relates to a window-covering of predominantly textile composition.

Window-coverings may be classified without difllculty as curtains, shades, or Venetian blinds; the various capabilities of these for admitting or excluding light or air are well known. Usually curtains are made of washable textile material, shades predominantly of paper or other sheet material, and Venetian blinds of wood or metal slats (notorious dust-collectors) with supporting fabric or plastic tapes.

A primary object of the present invention is provision of a window-covering that combines the desirable features of curtain, shade, and Venetian blind. Another object is construction of a removable washable curtain adjustable for variable transmission of light and air. Other objects of this invention, together with means and methods for attaining the various objects, will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying diagrams.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention in place before a window. Figure I. is a front view of the apparatus of Figure l similarly located but with the bottom edge extended below the sill of a window. Figure 3 is aside view of the apparatus of Figure 2 in corresponding position, showing the pleated elements thereof closed. Figure 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of the apparatus as shown in Figure 3. Figure 5 is a side view of the apparatus of Figure 3 with pleated elements thereof partially extended. Figure 6 is a similar side view but with the pleated elements substantially completely extended. Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.

In general, the objects of the present invention are accomplished by providing a window-covering comprising an essentially rectangular piece of fabric doubled back upon itself, with opposing halves of one face of the fabric thus juxtaposed to one another, and a plurality of intervening pleated elements whose opposite ends join, and thereby space apart, opposing portions of the fabric face. The invention contemplates movable supporting of the free ends of the fabric whereby the opposite ends of each of the pleated elements are relatively movable and the pleats correspondingly extensible. In particular, the invention comprehends a curtain adjustable for variable transmission of light or air and comprising two essentially rectangular pieces of net fabric juxtaposed face to face and connected to one another by a plurality of essentially parallel resilient strips, each strip being pleated and beingfastened at opposite ends to opposing faces of the net pieces, which are located for limited lengthwise movement with respect to one another so that when they are aligned lengthwise the ends of each strip are directly opposite one another with the pleating essentially closed and when they are misaligned lengthwise the ends of each strip also are misaligned and the pleating extended accordingly.

Figure I shows the top and one side of window frame 1 with sill 2 at the bottom and, supported at opposite 2,365,446 Patented Dec. 23, 1958 ends near the top of the frame at the sides thereof, roller 3 supporting adjustable curtain 4. The curtain has as its main elements near layer 5 and far layer 6 of net fabric and a plurality of parallel pleated strips 7 joined at opposite ends to the opposing faces of the near and far fabric layers. Weighting element 8 appears at the bottom of the curtain where the near and far layers of fabric join.

Figure 2 shows the supporting means for the curtain in more detail; the window frame is bordered inside at top and sides by mask 10, which is cut away appropriately to reveal the elements behind it. The curtain appears drawn down beyond the normal use level shown in Figure l, the weighing element lying below the sill level, to reveal broad tape 15 and elongatable narrow tapes l6 and 16' depending from the roller to support the near and far free ends of the curtain by means of rods passing through hems of the corresponding tapes and hems of the ends of the fabric. Rod 17 passes through the hem of the broad tape and through flanking hemmed portions extending to the sides of the near layer of the curtain fabric, and rod 13 passes through the hemof the far layer of fabric and through the hems of the pair of narrow tapes, which the end of the fabric is indented to receive close to the edge.

As shown more clearly in the side view' of Figure 3,

the pleated strips of Figure 2 are essentially completely closed, with their opposite ends at the same level; when the free ends of the net fabric are aligned in this position, the curtain appears from the front as a double layer of net interrupted at intervals of height by narrow horizontal strips, which necessarily impede passage of light or air. The cylindrical weighting element, which extends slightly more than the width of the curtain at the bottom, is

eccentric in transverse cross section and is oriented with its major transverse axis vertical in this position so as to permit close approach of the opposing fabric faces and consequent closing of the pleats.

A corresponding enlarged transverse view of weighting element 8 appears in Figure 4. This element consists of hollow circular tube 21 having slit 22 extending lengthwise from theoutside to the hollow and having ridge 23 of like length afiixed to the outside of the tube at a location non-radial with the slit. Rod 24 is located concentrically inside the hollow of the tube with fabric t surrounding the rod and passing in a double layer outward through the slit and in a single layer about the sides and bottom of the eccentric cylinder formed by the tube and attached ridge.

Figure 5 shows the curtain from the side with the ends supported at moderately differing levels corresponding to a quarter turn clockise of the weighting element; as the opposite ends of each similarly in height, the pleating of each is partly extended. The tapes for the far layer of .net fabric are elongated to accommodate the lower level of the attached end, and the major transverse axis of the weighting element is horizontal so that the eccentric cylinder forces the fabric p eces well apart from one another at the bottom, providlng a slanting of the pleated strips from the original level at the end connected to the near fabric, whose supporting tape is fixed in length, to a lower position at the The eperaticn of this apparatus is readily understood,

of the strips also are separated enemas Whenmaxrmum transmission of air or of heat or light radiation is desired, the curtain is pulled down manually below the normal level so that the supporting tapes are at le -S partly unrolled from. the roller, which isof the ordinary sprln'gdoaded ratchet-controlled type common in WlIlClOW blinds The weighting cylinder is rotated to place the ridge downward, and the roller ratchet is reieased irrtheusual manner, whereupon the tapes are rolled onto the roller until the connecting rods are hidden behi nd the top edge of the mask; this is the fully open or curta1n position, which is illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. What may be called the Venetian-blind positron of this apparatus is illustrated in Figures 1 and 5, in wh chthe partially extended pleated strips pass outward anddownward from the near layer to the relatively separated far layer of net fabricg the adj ustment is made with thetapes unrolled from the roller by turning the weighting cylinder as previously mentioned'to place the ridge on a level with the cylindrical axis[ The fully closed or shade positron appears in Figure '6; where the retractable tapes supporting the far layer of net fabric are fully elongated, and thepleated strips overlap, with the near and far layers once more close together; like the other posihens in which the supported ends of fabric are misaligned, the desired relationship is maintained by rolling the en tire elongated tape upon the supporting roller, where it is held at the enrolled length. Of course, the present windew-cover ng has a range of pleat positions from fully opened to fully closed, each of which may be secured and maintained in the manner suggested above. The entire assembly may be rolled up about the roller, as Well, 1n the usual fashion for a window blind. Thus, any desired degree of heat or light reflection or air circulation may be obtained at will.

Disa'ssembly' of the apparatus just described to facilitate cleaning of the curtain itself takes only a few secends. The rodsconnecting the tapes and top ends of the layers of netfabric are withdrawn manually from the hems, thus freeing the curtain fabric from the supporting elements. Similarly, rod 24 is withdrawn from the hollow tube of the weighting cylinder to release the intervening loop of fabric, which then is withdrawn through the slit of the tube. Reassemblyis equally simple and is essentially thejreverse of the above procedure. Insertion of the connecting rods at the free ends of the curtain requiresonly suitable alignment of the respective hems. Reattachment of the weighting element may be accomplished in any of several ways, perhaps the easiest being first looping the fabric about the retaining rod and then,

after aligning the rodwith the hollow of the tube and the double layer of fabric with the slit of the tube, sliding the rod and surrounding fabric as a unit into the tube.

The layers of fabric preferably are constructed, as uggest'ed in the diagrams discussed above, as a single essentially rectangular piece of fabric doubled back upon itself to juxtapose' the respective halves of one face of the fabric to another. ()f course, if desired, separate. pieces of fabric may be attached to one another or to the weighting element. This curtain fabric, which is identified above as net, may be of any suitably open construction, woven or knitted; for example, it may be formed as a marqui'sette, leno, or tricot. It may be colored or patterned'as desired and may be employed in conjunction with separate'draperies atthe side or valance at the top for additional decorative effect. Both the net'fabric and the pleated strips preferably are composed of synthetic fibrous materials (e. g., acrylonitrile polymers, polyethylene terephthalate) that retain their shape despite laundering. Elasticized yarn or like material forms the retractable tapes.

The above embodiment of the present invention is designed as a covering for the usual window in the outside wall of a home or other building, where variable protection against the suns rays is desirable. However, in windows or other openings where this is not such a factor, as in internal walls or at northern exposures, a modification of the invention may be equally suitable. Figure 7 shows one such modification in which the pleated strips run vertically instead of horizonta ly. Adjustment of the illustrated curtain to vary the pleating extension may be accomplished by relative lengthwise movement of the supporting rods.

As shown, rods 31 and 32 fitting in sigma-shaped openings 33 and 34, respectively, in plate 35 attached to wall as support fabric layers 37 and 38, respectively, the end of each layer being looped about the corresponding rod. Pleated strips 39 extend vertically, connecting at one edge to the near layer and at the opposite edge to the far layer of fabric. In this embodiment, it is most convenient to have two completely separate pieces of fabric make up the individual layers and to retain them at the bottom by means identical (though inverted) to that used at the top, at least one rod in each set being adjustable lengthwise.- Removal of this type ofadjustable curtain for laundering or other purpose is accomplished readily by withdrawing the rods from the hems of the fabric.

The benefits of the present invention are apparent, the advantages of ready convertibility from curtain to Venetian blind to shade having been mentioned above. The curtain itself, being instantly removable and relatively inexpensive, permits quick substitution of other colors or patterns to agree with changing conditions of external or internal illumination or other factor affecting decor.

The claimed invention:

1. Window-covering adjustable to shut out substantially all light from a covered area comprising an essentially rectangular piece of net fabric doubled back upon itself, with opposing halves of one face of the fabric juxtaposed to one another, and a plurality of intervening extensible pleated elements spaced apart a distance greater than the pleated length, with the opposite ends of each pleated element joining, and thereby spacing apart, opposing portions of the fabric face said pleated elements consisting of a material which impedes the passage of light.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 in combination with longl tudinally adjustable means adapted to support separately the free ends of the double fabric.

3. The apparatus of claim 2 in which each free end of the fabric is hemmed and the supporting means coinprises a roller with a horizontal axis, a plurality of tapes dependingfrom the roller and hemmed at the lower end, and a pair of rods, the respective rods passing through the horns of separate tapes and fabric ends to-constitute a supporting link between the tapes and the ends ofthe fabric.

4. The apparatus of claim 3 in which the supporting tapes for one of the fabric ends are elongatable and the roller is spring-loaded, whereby the tapes may be wrapped around the roller with the respective ends of the fabric supported at relative heights determined by the difference in wrapped lengths of the corresponding tapes.

5. The apparatus of claim 2 in which each of the pleated elements joins the opposing portions of the fabric face horizontally for substantially the width of the fabric and the supporting means comprises a pair of supporting elements, one of said supporting elements being independently adjustable to different heights relative to the other, whereby the opposite ends of each of the pleated elements are movable to different relative heights, with occurrence of corresponding extension of the pleats.

6. The apparatus of claim 5 in combination with weighting means comprising a. cylinder with eccentric transverse cross section and length approximating the width of the fabric and located in the fold where the fabric doubles back upon itself and adapted to space the opposing portions of the fabric face farther apart from one another at intermediate extension of the pleats than at the extremes of compression and extension;

7. The apparatus of claim 6 in which the weighting means comprises a hollow tube with a slit adapted to receive a double layer of the fabric extending from the outer surface to the hollow and a. removable rod adapted to rest in the hollow of the cylinder with a layer of the fabric surrounding the rod.

8. A curtain adjustable to shut out substantially all light from a covered area comprising two essentially rectangular pieces of net fabric juxtaposed face to face and connected to one another by a plurality of essentially parallel resilient strips spaced apart a distance greater than the unextended length, each strip being fastened at opposite ends to opposing faces and pleated in between and consisting of a material which impedes the passage of light, the net pieces being located for limited lengthwise movement with respect to one another in a direction perpendicular to the resilient strips so that when the net pieces are aligned lengthwise the ends of each resilient strip are directly opposite one another with the pleating essentially closed and when the net pieces are misaligned lengthwise the ends of each resilient strip also are misaligned and the pleating extended accordingly.

9. The apparatus of claim 8 in which at the greatest limit of lengthwise misalignment of the net pieces the pleats of each resilient strip are essentially completely extended and the ends of adjacent strips overlap, whereby vision through the opposing pieces of the net fabric is completely obstructed.

10. A curtain adjustable to shut out substantially all light from a covered area comprising two essentially rectangular sections of net fabric juxtaposed face to face and connected to one another by a plurality of intervening essentially parallel resilient strips spaced apart a distance greater than the unextended length, each strip being fastened at opposite ends to opposing faces and pleated in between, the net sections being located for limited lengthwise movement relative to one another in a direction perpendicular to the resilient strips said strips consisting of a material which impedes the passage of light.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

